What skills and traits are necessary for a journalist in the new news ecology?

We had a wide range of people: two educators, two reporters, two editors and an online producer.

Kat Powers, who has successfully trying new strategies at her paper and Web site, Wickedlocalsomerville.com, says one key characteristic is to be bold, not afraid to try and innovate.

We have to tell stories in a different way, open up the process of story telling and the way it is produced.

Journalists now have to learn how to let go. It was suggested to look for people for whom change is the norm: Army brats and foster children.

Young people ( and all of us) have to get over the idea that "it's not my job."

One very important question: Can you get people who are willing to take risks?

Kat and others suggested that it's not good to focus too much on the tools, because tools are tools and they will change.  Journalists in the new news ecology should be fearless.

Journalists have to develop people skills, whether interviewing, dealing with conflict or talking to an angry reader/viewer.  It's important to understand marketing. It's not enough to just put your story out there -- you have to make sure that people see it, link to it, click on it.

With the immediacy of the Web and the drop in the number of copy editors, the environment seems to call for people who are skilled at writing and editing, the basics.This sparked some discussion over the need to get info on the Web quickly and whether people would stop reading because of poor grammar.

We also spent time talking about how things work at different papers.

Our list: ( Please add to it!)

Journalists still have to have "it," the passion, the drive, the willingness to go after a story and to work to present it, on whatever platform, in the best means possible. 

Skills: you'll notice no real software here because that changes.

HTML: link, embed, image

Video/Edit

Audio

Social networking

phone with a camera

story choreography: Putting all the pieces together, whether it's multimedia or charticles

Writing basics (including grammar and punctuation)

story telling

ability to figure out the rest

Traits:

Bold

Curious

Innovative

Vision/creativity

Embrace failure

Ability to redefine

Fearless

Open to critique

share power/humility

Change